General Salou Djibo, former head of Niger’s military junta, will contest the 2020 presidential election after being adopted on Sunday as the candidate for the Peace-Justice-Progress (PJP) party.

He accepted the candidacy at a ceremony before some 5,000 people at the Niamey Sports Palace. Djibo, 55, led the military junta that ousted President Mahamadou Tandja in February 2010, after he tried to stay on in power beyond his two-term limit.

Djibo stayed in power until April 2011 before handing back power to civilian rule, in the form of the current president Mahamadou Issoufou. The ruling part has picked Mohamed Bazoum, the Minister of Interior, as its candidate.

He retired from the army in 2019, and hopes to succeed Issoufou, whose final term runs out this year. The first round of the presidential election in Niger, coupled with the legislative elections, is set for December 27, 2020.

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